AfterLife Posts

Recoleta Cemetery remains closed to visitors for the time being. But in the spirit of our last post & of armchair travel –all that’s available at the moment– we’d like to share some our other favorite cemeteries from around the world, along with a few suggestions for the future of travel as it relates to cemeteries.

Tourism will change as a result of the pandemic, but that’s good… the industry is long overdue for new paradigms. Crowded museums & big-ticket expositions will likely become a thing of the past. Travellers may search for less-crowded sites to explore & as open-air museums with little public, cemeteries provide a perfect alternative.

One concept that should disappear along with coronavirus is the outdated notion that a kind of world cemetery hierarchy exists. Somewhere, someone invented a statement that Recoleta Cemetery ranks as one of the most important in the world, along with Père Lachaise in Paris & Staglieno in Genoa. On who’s authority? To our chagrin, that tired comparison has been copied & pasted as much as “Buenos Aires is the Paris of South America”:

“la Recoleta es considerado uno de los tres cementerios más importantes del mundo, junto al Pére Lachaise, de París, y el Staglieno, de Génova“

“Renombrado como uno de los cementerios más monumentales del mundo junto con Père Lachaise en las afueras de París y la Colina de Staglieno en Génova“

“Es uno de los más importantes del mundo junto con el de Staglieno en Génova y el Père Lachaise de París“

Basta ya. Each cemetery has something special in its own right. Regular readers of this blog know that Recoleta Cemetery is unique due to its compact nature, its location near the city center, its high concentration of art & architecture & the opportunity to discover almost all of Argentina’s history. The list could go on & on. Recoleta Cemetery needs no comparison… only interest in unlocking its secrets, as with any cemetery around the world. Below are a few of our other favorites:

Milano · Cimitero Monumentale – Not only is the entrance monumental, but fascinating sculpture continues to the very back sections of this grand cemetery. Something breathtaking lies around every corner:

San Sebastián · Cementerio de Polloe – Terraced landscaping takes visitors up & down on the hunt for tombstones written in the Basque language… in spite of being prohibited during the Franco era:

Sydney · Waverley Cemetery – Sure, Rookwood is fantastic; we can all agree with that. But the cliffside location of this cemetery overlooking the water makes for beautiful views throughout:

Washington, DC · Arlington National Cemetery – simple tombstones placed row upon row of those who gave their life for their country, the tomb of the unknown soldier & monuments to both victories & tragedies:

Madrid · Panteón de Hombres Ilustres – Art Nouveau memorials to national greats:

Bucurešti · Bellu Cemetery – Packed tight & full of nature, the rustic layout invites exploration:

Various locations with a single sculpture or a dominant style · Some cemeteries have a monumental piece (or two) that draw pilgrims to see them in person. Others possess a predominant architectural style, & often the stories associated with tombs also attract many visitors:

We hope this brief list of cemeteries other than La Recoleta provides inspiration for future travel. Tombs & mausoleums reflect their time as well as let us know how their occupants wanted to be remembered. Do you have a favorite not listed here? We’ll share more of our travels on request, & we’re always looking for new places to explore. Let us know your best cemetery experience. With a bit of luck, cemetery visits may become part of mainstream tourism soon!

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There’s nothing quite like a pandemic to reflect on the nature of life & death. The past few weeks have been difficult for the primary author of this blog who lives in Spain. Four weeks of official quarantine have passed, but another two await… with likely more to come if the number of deaths remain high. The death toll due to coronavirus in Spain reached over 900 people daily for awhile, but recently numbers have dropped a bit. Argentina –far from the global epicenter of the pandemic– has only had 83 deaths total to date… a far cry from the almost 17,000 deaths here in Spain. The graphic below is from the 12 Apr 2020 edition of the Spanish newspaper El País (click to expand):

However, Buenos Aires is no stranger to epidemics. Several swept through the city over a century ago with the most devastating being a yellow fever outbreak in 1871. An estimated 10% of the population died within a few months. Doctors & scientists had yet to discover the vector or an effective treatment, so people fled Buenos Aires… like the plague. Recoleta Cemetery even prohibited the burial of yellow fever victims. Deserted & left to its own devices, scenes of empty streets from current quarantine measures surely resemble what the city experienced almost 150 years ago. What artwork will come to define our modern experience like the famous painting of a victim of yellow fever by Juan Manuel Blanes?

One thought holds some comfort in these difficult times; major outbreaks of disease aren’t the only opportunity to reflect on death. In previous centuries, certain religious orders throughout Europe built a chapel specifically for that reason. Several can be still be visited, but my personal favorite is in a Franciscan church in Évora, Portugal. A somewhat chilling –but true– statement greets the visitor even today: Nos ossos que aqui estamos pelos vossos esperamos. Our bones that are here await for yours.

Shocking for some, walls covered with skulls & other assorted bones have a simple purpose: to familiarize the visitor with the fate that awaits us all. This particular chapel has been on the tourist circuit for some time, & a wonderful account was written by British architect James Murphy after a visit in 1789-90. A monk explained to him:

“It was for this purpose that sepulchres and cemeteries were made adjoining to the churches, and in the most frequented parts of the city, with a view to divest the people of the idea of terror at the sight of a corpse, and to the end that the continual sight of bones, graves, monuments, and funeral obsequies, should put them in mind of their frail condition.”

Death is indeed less terrifying when it becomes part of our lives, & no better time to consider our own place in the world than now. This blog will continue to provide a space for that kind of reflection, pandemic or no. That said, no need to rush to join those other bones… stay healthy, but make cemetery tourism a part of your future travel plans wherever you may go.

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